Rail-chair.



A. G. LIEBMANN.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

un/humus M W a THE NORRIS PETERS CO PHOTG-LITHO., WASHINGTON D. r

UNTTED EiTATES PATENT @FFTQE AUGUST Gr. LIEBIVIANN, OF BUTTE, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR TO VIGNOLES BAIL CHAIR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

BAIL-CHAIR.

Patented J an. 26, 1915..

Application filed July 8, 1913, Serial No. 777,951. Renewed December 14, 1914:. Serial No. 877,276.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUST G. LIEBMANN, citizen of the United States, residing at Butte, in the county of Silverbow and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway equipment, and particularly to chairs whereby the rail is held upon the ties.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a rail chair which is particularly adapted for use with earth ballast in certain localities where shimming is required after heavy rains. After heavy rains where earth ballast is used, the road-bed becomes so saturated wilmoisture that skimming must be resorted to to bring rails to a practical surface to carry the traffic. The ballast being saturated, tamping beneath the ties to bring the ties and rails to the proper level cannot be attempted. In order to shim rails fastened to ties where the usual spikes engage the base fiange of the rail, it is necessary to withd-i aw the spikes, place shims beneath the rail, and redrive the spikes. A spike redriven in the same hole never holds as firmly as a newly driven spike, and if the spikes are redriven in imperforated portions of the wood, the tie very shortly becomes spiked to death. Even where the tie is treated, the spike holes will let moisture into the interior of the tie which very shortly rots the tie outvso that the lives of ties are relatively short.

The object of the invention is to permit shimming to be resorted to in order to raise the rail to a proper level and further is to provide means whereby rails may be laterally shifted in order to bring them to gage without the necessity of removing the primary fasteninns holding the chair to the tie.

A further object is to provide a construction of this character wherein the rail may be adjusted either laterally or vertically with comparative ease, thus doing away with the services of section gangs where the rails have to be adjusted, and further doing away with the necessity of tamping the ballast beneath the tie or attempting to do so in order to raise the rail.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a very simple rail chair made up of members which may be readily rolled.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means whereby the rail shall be thoroughly braced not only against vertical and lateral stress, but against any tipping strain.

A still further object is the provision of a chair so constructed that the base flange of the rail will not be sheared ofi" through the action of frost or thaw, by too rigid a holding means in direct contact with the base flange of a rail.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tie, a rail, and my improved rail chair applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the construction illustrated in Fig. l; and Fig. 3

is a side elevation, partly in section of my.

improved chair, the rail supported thereon being in section.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawing by the same reference characters.

Referring to these drawings, A designates a tie which is illustrated as of wood and has theusual form.

B designates a rail having any desired shape, but illustrated as of standard cross section.

Disposed upon the tie and held thereto by means of screw spikes 2 is a base plate 3, which plate preferably has the same width as the width of the tie so as to provide a firm and secure bearing surface upon the tie, thus preventing cutting or splintering of the tie under the weight of the rolling stock. The base plate 3 is perforated at its corners for the insertion of the spikes 2. As illustrated particularly well in Fig. 3, the base plate is formed at opposite ends with upwardly extending abutments 4. These abutments are relatively narrow, and each has a downwardly and inwardly inclined face 5, each abutment being transversely perforated as at 6.

Disposed against each side of the rail is a rail brace 7 which may be of any desired form, but as illustrated comprises a downwardly and outwardly extending plate formed at its upper end with a head which engages beneath the head of the rail, and at its middle with a downwardly and inwardly extending bracing web 8 which engages the rail at the junction of the base and web. The lower end of each rail base is formed with a bulb 9, this bulb being longitudinally bored, the bore of the bulb being open on the outer face of the bulb.

Disposed overeach abutment is a hollow member or box 10 which is preferably rectangular in cross section, the interior width of the box 10 being the same as the width of the corresponding abutment 4, so as to fit snugly thereon, the interior length of the box 10 being greater than the length of the abutment, as illustrated clearly in Fig. 3. Each box 10 is formed upon its inner face with a bead 11 horizontally disposed and adapted to be engaged in the bore of the corresponding bulb'9. It will be noted from Fig. 1 that there is a slight rotative play between the bulb 9 and the bead 11. The box 10 on its sides is formed with a plurality of slots 12, two parallel slots being illustrated disposed one above the other.

The inner end faces of the boxes 10 are face of each box, and the inclined face 5 of the corresponding abutment 4, is a vertically movable wedge 13. Then this wedge is driven downward, it will bear against the inclined face 5 of the abutment 4, and will exert a wedging action upon the box 10, forcing this box inwardly, and thus forcing the rail brace 7 inwardly. When the wedge 13 is raised, it permits the box 10 to be shifted outward, and thus permits the bead 11 and the brace 7 to be shifted outwardly.

Each box 10 is held in engagement with the corresponding abutment 4 by means of a pin 14 which may be in the form of a bolt or any other suitable form, this pin passing through one or the other of the slots 12 in the box 10. The wedge 13 may also be held in its adjusted position by means of a transversely extending pin 15 which passes through one of a series of perforations 16 formed in the wedge 13, and through perforations in the walls of the box 10. The pins 15 and 14 may be held from Withdrawal by any suitable means as by means of cotter pins 17. Padlocks or nuts may be used, in place of cotter pins, however.

The operation of my improved chair will be obvious from what has gone before. In order to raise the rail the wedges 13 are loosened, the pins 14 removed, and a shim of suitable thickness is inserted between the face of the rail and the base-plate 3, thus raising the rail to any desired height. The

lifting of the rail by the shim will, of course, cause an elevation of the rail braces and a corresponding elevation of the box 10. After the box 10 has been lifted, the pins 14 are again driven into place, this time, however, in the lower pair of slots 12. The wedges 13 are then driven into place. If it is desired that the rail be disposed equidistantly between two abutments, both of the wedges 13 are driven in the same distance and locked into place by the pins 15. If, however, it is desired to shift the rail laterally with relation to the middle plane of the base so as to bring the rail to gage, one of the wedges 13 is driven in farther than the other wedge. It will be obvious that the lateral shifting of the rail may be accomplished quite readily by driving in one of the wedges 13 without the necessity of using other means of shifting the rail. It will also be noted that there is a slight rotative play between each rail brace 7 and the corresponding bead 11 which will be sufficient to accommodate slight variations in the level of the rail, and will permit the rail to yield properly under the action of moving trains. Further, it will be noted that if the rail be raised relative to another portion of the track, there will be no shearing action upon the base of the rail inasmuch as the bead 11 or the pins 14 and 15 will yield and bend before the rail base can be sheared.

Again it is pointed out that the rail braces 7 buttress the rail against tipping strain, and that tipping thrust against the head of the rail will be transmitted downward and outward against the abutments through the medium of the wedges, thus bracing the rail against all strains to which it is subjected.

In the official report of the Block Signal and Train Control Board of the Interstate Commerce Commission, dated June 29th, 1912-, it is stated that, under circumstances existing in a large proportion of railroads in this country, the means of adjusting the rail base to the tie must be such as to admit of blocking up or shimming. The report further states that, adequate means must be provided for shimming or for widening the gage, and this means should not involve lost motion or change of adjustment. Again this report is particularly adverse to the use of spikes as means for holding a rail to the ties, and for the reasons pointed out in the first part of this description advise the use of screw spikes as primary fastenings withsecondary fastenings as the means for holding the rail to the chain. My improved rail chair conforms to all of these requirements. t affords a solid bed for the rail; it provides means for bracing the rail against lateral and tipping thrusts; it provides for the use of primary and secondary fastenings; and it permits the rail to be easily adjusted either for gage or track level.

Because of this capability, the chair is peculiarly adapted to be used with earth ballast, and as a consequence, is of particular value on southern roads and low sections where there is a considerable degree of moisture.

It is to be particularly pointed out that the base plate of this rail chair may be formed of an ordinary structural shape, such as a T-bar section.

What I claim is 1. A rail chair comprising a base plate having a vertical abutment thereon, said abutment having a downwardly inclined inner face, a downwardly and outwardly inclined rail brace disposed inward of said abutment and operatively connected thereto for vertical adjustment, and a vertically movable wedge engaging said abutment and operatively engaging said rail braces to shift them laterally.

2. A rail chair comprising a base plate having oppositely disposed upwardly extending abutments, the inner faces of the abutments being downwardly and inwardly inclined, vertically and laterally shiftable members engaging said abutment, wedges disposed between said abutments and said members, and rail braces engaging one on each side of a rail and disposed between the abutments, said rail braces having a slight rotative engagement with said members.

3. A rail chair comprising a base plate having upwardly extending, oppositely disposed abutments, .each abutment being formed with a downwardly and inwardly inclined face, members each surrounding one of said abutments, vertically movable wedges engaging said abutments and the adjacent inner face of the said members, and rail braces connected to said members.

4. A rail chair comprising a base plate having oppositely disposed upstanding abutments, each abutment having a downwardly and inwardly inclined inner face, down wardly and outwardly inclined rail braces adapted to engage a rail and including rectangular members embracing the abutments, and vertically movable wedges disposed one between each abutment and the adjacent end of the corresponding member.

5. A rail chair comprising a base plate having upwardly extending, oppositely disposed abutments, each abutment having a downwardly and inwardly inclined face, rail braces disposed between the abutments and each including a member embracing the corresponding abutment, means for vertically adjusting said members with relation to the abutments, and means for laterally adjusting said members with relation to the abutments.

6. A rail chair comprising a base plate having upstanding abutments at opposite ends, each abutment having a downwardly and inwardly inclined inner face, a box surrounding each abutment, said box being formed at its sides with a series of horizontally disposed slots, each abutment being transversely perforated to correspond with one of said slots, each of said boxes being formed upon its inner face with a bead, rail braces extending downward and outward and engageable on each side of a rail, each rail brace having at its lower end an open tutally disposed slots, each abutment being transversely perforated to correspond with one of said slots, each of said boxes being formed upon its inner face with a bead,

rail braces extending downward and outward and engageable on each side of a rail, each rail brace having at its lower end an open tubular bulb engaging with the corresponding bead and vertically disposed one between each abutment and the adjacent end of the corresponding box, a transverse pin passing through each abutment and through one of the slots in the corresponding box, and means for holding the wedges in adjusted position.

8. A rail chair including a base plate having an upwardly extending abutment, a rail brace disposed inwardly of said abutment, a member surrounding the abutment and operatively connected to the lower end of the rail brace, and means for vertically adjusting said member relative to the abutment and for laterally adjusting said member relative to the abutment.

9. A rail chair comprising a base-plate having an upstanding abutment, a rail brace inward of the abutment, a member extenda ing vertically upward on the lower end of the rail brace parallel to the abutment, and a spacing member disposed between the abutment and said first-named member.

10. In a rail chair, a base plate having oppositely disposed upstanding abutments spaced from each other a distance greater than the width of a rail base, oppositely disposed rail braces extending outward and downward, vertically disposed members located inwardly of each abutment and each connected to the corresponding rail brace, and means disposed between the abutments and said members for spacing the members from the abutments to thereby force the rail braces into engagement with the rail.

11. A rail chair including a bed-plate having an upstanding abutment, a rail brace, a

member embracing said abutment, a verti- In testimony whereof I affix my signature cally movable Wedge interposed between the in presence of two witnesses. abutment and the embracing member, said AUGUST G LIEBMANN [L embracing member having interlocking engagement with the rail brace, and means for Witnesses:

locking said embracing member in laterally WVM. NUss, and vertically adjusted positions. W'. H. MALONEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

